Neonatal Medicine

Screening

Universal Hearing Screen

The NHS has now implemented a Newborn Hearing Screening Programme http://hearing.screening.nhs.uk/


Approximately 1-2/1000 infants are born with deafness


Screening is carried out in the first 2 weeks of life, usually on the post-natal ward


Assessors will perform an OtoAcoustic Emissions (OAE) test, and may perform Automated Auditory Brainstem Responses (AABR).


Those children with abnormal responses will be referred for audiology follow-up but abnormal responses do not confirm deafness (this is a screening test).